


Secrets

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: Loki Is A Great Dad [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 07:12:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15262149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Loki starts to notice the reader and his daughters, Freya and Lorelei, acting strangely. He worries that they’re keeping secrets from him until it forms a rift between them and everything comes out.





	Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr (@startrekkingaroundasgard)

“Now, you can’t tell daddy,” you said, crouching down in front of your daughters and resting a hand on each of their shoulders. “It’s a secret.”

"But mummy, you said keeping secrets was bad,“ Lorelei said with a frown on her face. She looked over to her sister to see if Freya understood why you’d changed your mind but she too seemed confused by your request. Tilting her head to the side, your youngest asked, "Won’t daddy be upset if he finds out?”

"He won’t get upset if he doesn’t find out…“ Running a hand through your hair, feeling more than a little bit chuffed that your daughters understood the value of honesty, you tried, "Okay, how about this. For the next week, you are going to be super spies just like me and you have to keep daddy from finding out or the whole world will explode.”

They both drew sharp breaths, covering their mouths with their hands in shock. Freya leant closer and whispered, “Will it really explode?”

"Yep,“ you said cheerfully, patting them on the back and guiding them out the kitchen towards the garden. "So make sure you’re really sneaky and don’t get caught. The fate of the world is in your hands!”

***

To say that Freya and Lorelei took being sneaky super spies seriously was an understatement.

It started out with small things. They ran around the garden pretending to shoot at an enemy that wasn’t there like “mummy and uncle Tony did” when you went away on secret missions. They snuck into the tree house when they thought you or Loki weren’t looking and planned missions of their own. They even came up with their own code words to talk without being understood.

As the week passed, though, they only seemed to up their game.

"Daddy,“ Lorelei sung, pushing herself up on to the sofa and wrapping her arms around Loki’s neck. He put down the book that he’d been reading and smiled at your daughter, asking what she wanted. "Can you help me turn my hair white?”

It was hardly a strange request; after all, since she was only four, Lorelei’s shape shifting powers were limited to basic things like changing the colour of her hair or eyes and she took every chance to practise using magic with her dad. Loki always agreed but today there was something about her tone that made him ask why she wanted to practise today.

Leaning forward, she whispered conspiratorially in his ear, “I’m practising my disguises.”

"Is that so?“ Loki grinned, ruffling her curly black hair and pulling a few strands across her face to make a moustache. Lorelei burst out laughing and copied the action on Loki, which only made her laugh more. "What disguise needs white hair, then, princess?”

"I’m going to be an old lady so I can steal a cookie.“

Ignoring the confusing lack of logic in her plan, sure that it made sense to her four year old mind, Loki asked, "Aren’t you a bit short to be an old lady?”

"Lots of old ladies are little,“ Lorelei pointed out, citing your next door neighbour Mrs Greenwood as an example. "And with my white hair and one of mummy’s flowery scarves, you’ll never know the difference!”

"There seems to be a lot of stealing in this plan, sweetie.“

"It doesn’t count if you’re a spy,” she grinned, literally bouncing up and down on the sofa with an uncontrollable energy.

You were watching all of this from the doorway with immense interest, not missing the way that Freya was creeping around the back of the sofa on her hands and knees trying to grab Loki’s book from the table. You had to cover your mouth with your hand to stop yourself from laughing as she swapped it with one of your romance novels (which she’d apparently “borrowed” from your bedroom). There was a little note peaking out the top of it, one you’d seen the girls writing earlier that morning containing a not so subtle threat that if they didn’t get pizza for dinner then Loki’s book would face a miserable end. 

Just as she was pulling away, Loki suddenly whipped his arm out and grabbed Freya by the waist, hoisting her up on to the sofa. Try as he might, he could not wipe the impressed look off of his face. It was actually quite adorable how proud he was about his girls causing mischief.

His eyes fell on your book on the table and he turned back to Freya, raising his eyebrows expectantly. She let out a sigh and waved her hands in the air, summoning the book back from the same pocket of space in which she hid her knives. Handing it back to her father, she said, “I get credit for trying, right?”

Loki looked between the girls and then playfully poked Lorelei in the chest, querying, “Were you the distraction?”

She nodded enthusiastically, clearly not bothered about having been found out. “I was good, wasn’t I?”

"Yes, you were,“ he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. With Freya and Lorelei both snuggled up against his sides, Loki squeezed them tightly and asked, "What’s gotten in to you two, anyway?”

"We’re being spies!“ Lorelei giggled.

"You’re not supposed to tell anyone when you’re a spy!” Freya hissed, reaching over Loki and playfully shoving her sister. “It’s meant to be a secret! Mummy doesn’t go around telling people that she’s a spy, does she? They’d never tell her stuff if they knew.”

Lorelei thought about that for a moment and then nodded. Looking up at Loki from beneath her thick lashes, she said, “Daddy, you have to forget we’re spies. It’s a secret.”

"Well, you know how mummy and I feel about secrets but just I’ll let it go just this once.“ Even though you weren’t able to see from where you were standing, you could tell that your daughters shared an almost guilty look. And from the way that Loki’s shoulders tensed ever so slightly, you knew that he had definitely seen it too. "Girls, have you got something to tell me?”

"Are all secrets bad, daddy?“ Lorelei asked.

"Maybe not all of them but secrets do hurt people, sweetie. Have you been keeping secrets?”

Looking between her dad and her older sister in something not unlike panic, Lorelei suddenly jumped off the sofa and ran into her room to hide. You had to admit that, whilst perhaps not the way you wanted to see her react to every problem, running away was a very viable technique when it came to avoiding detection in espionage.

However, it did leave poor Freya to face their dad’s questioning alone. A little too quickly, your eldest said, “I haven’t done anything.”

"Freya…“

"I found one of uncle Tony’s old computers in the attic and went through some of the old files. I also changed a few things in some of them so the next time he looks at them they might say Tony Stank instead of Stark.”

From the doorway you let out a laugh, causing both of them to turn your way in surprise. Neither had seen you there and you were glad to see that your “super spy skills” as Lorelei called them were still up to scratch. “Have you been talking to Uncle Rhodey again?”

Ignoring your question, Loki asked, “Is that all you want to tell me, Freya?”

"Mmmhmm,“ she nodded, pulling Loki into a hug to hide her face. "Love you, daddy.”

"Go do your homework, sweetie,“ you said, kissing the top of Freya’s head and giving her a well welcomed escape. She winked at you as she disappeared around the door and you took a seat on the sofa next to Loki, swinging your legs into his lap. You leant forward and brushed his cheek with your thumb. "You’re frowning, love.”

"I thought we’d taught the girls not to lie.“

"They’re just playing, Loki,” you said, sensing his anxiety and trying to sooth him with lots of soft brief touches. You knew that these little moments of physical contact helped to ground your husband but did feel incredible guilty that there was a basis of his worries. You had told your daughters to hide something from him and you hadn’t thought about how it would affect him.

Loki somehow seemed to feel your guilt in the way that you tensed up when he placed a hand on your thigh. “What is this about, darling?”

"It’s nothing,“ you assured him, placing a kiss on his lips. "I told you they’re just playing around. They get to play with you and your magic all the time and are just exploring my work a little. It’s nothing. I’m gonna go make dinner. Go make sure that Lorelei is still breathing?”

"What aren’t you telling me, Y/N?“

"I’ve told you, Loki. There’s nothing to worry about.”

***

"Y/N, enough is enough. Tell me what this is all about. Spying, secrecy, lies…“ Loki said. He’d appeared from nowhere as you were preparing for bed and was now leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. You’d not seen him this serious for a long time and, if you weren’t so sure that he’d never hurt you, you would have been shaking with fear. "All the way through dinner, you kept sharing glances with the girls. What is happening?”

"Honestly, Loki, it’s nothing. You really don’t need to worry.“

"Y/N, please.” You could hear the strain in his voice. He was fighting the urge to shout, to cry, to do whatever it would take to find out what could possibly be so bad that you’d sworn your daughters to secrecy. The cracks in his facade were already falling like flakes of paint from an old masterpiece, his pain and fear coming through too strongly to bear.

You crossed the bedroom and threw your arms around his shoulders, not resisting at all when his arms slid around your waist. Running your fingers through his beautifully soft hair, you placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Loki. I didn’t realise you were hurting. I’m sorry. I love you so much.”

When you tried to pull back to meet his gaze, Loki held you tightly where you were, not ready to let you go. You let him take his time, burying your head in his shoulder while you waited for his breathing to slow. Finally convinced that you weren’t about to vanish on him, Loki said, “We promised, Y/N. No secrets or lies. And then suddenly you, and Freya and Lorelei, were all keeping something from me.”

"Oh, Loki, I am so sorry.“ Catching his face in your hands, you placed a soft kiss on his mouth and whispered nothings, your lips brushing against his with every quiet word. Gently pushing the dark, curly strands of hair behind his ear, you said, "I never meant for you to think… All of this over nothing. I’m sorry, we… I should never have kept this from you. I promise I won’t do it again.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed with your fingers entwined, you sat in semi-comfortable silence for a while, both of you caught up in your thoughts. It was Loki that spoke first, his hand shaking ever so slightly as he said, “I’d like to know. I need to.”

"Okay,“ you nodded, feeling the smile on your lips despite the seriousness of it all. You curled your legs up beneath you and held both of Loki’s hands in yours tightly. Making him promise not to get mad, needlessly reminding him that you knew how to fight just as well as him, you divulged, "The girls have a sports day at school tomorrow.”

Loki blinked a few times as if trying to work out if he’d heard you correctly. “I’m… Y/N, I don’t quite… darling, I’m very confused.”

That was something Loki rarely admitted and it actually threw you for a moment but you quickly caught your mental balance and carefully explained, “Do you remember last year when we went to the school’s sports day? You got a little… competitive. The three legged races where you turned the other kids’ ropes into snakes? Turning the water to ice so the other kids slipped and fell before the finish line? And then during the parent’s obstacle course when you…”

"I remember,“ he interrupted, before you could make it sound any worse. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Loki titled his head ever to slightly to the side and asked, "So you didn’t want me to go? That’s what you were keeping secret?”

Scratching the back of your head awkwardly, you brushed that pesky strand of hair from Loki’s face once again and shrugged, “I did tell you it was nothing important.”

"Y/N…“

"I’m sorry. It was stupid but I knew you’d want to go and then you’d just get all competitive again and I promised the head master last year that there’d be no more incidents. I just thought if you didn’t know about it then it was pass by unnoticed and everything would be fine. I am sorry. Please don’t be mad at the girls.”

"I’m not mad at them. Or you,“ Loki said, smiling softly and placing a kiss on your forehead. When he pulled away, he raised his eyebrows and added, in his most obvious dad voice, "I’m just very disappointed.”

Groaning you fell back into the mattress, covering your face with your hands. You’d always hated that kind of addition as a kid and it just sounded so much worse coming from Loki’s lips. The mattress dipped as he lay down beside you, tracing random pattern on your stomach where your shirt had ridden up. If it hadn’t felt so nice you’d have whacked him for his comment but instead just lay still, enjoying his touch.

You weren’t sure how much time passed before you suddenly shot up with a dreadful realisation. Catching the smirk on Loki’s face you knew your suspicion was right; he was coming to sports day whether you liked it or not. Almost pleadingly, you asked, “Is there anything I can do to stop you from going and terrorising the other kids?”

Loki brought your knuckles to his lips and grinned, “Not a thing.”

Knowing that Loki going out and causing trouble in spite of you was your punishment for keeping secrets, even one as mundane as this, you sighed, “I thought not. Just please don’t turn anyone into a frog this year…”

"Darling, what I have planned is so much better.“

"I’ll start looking at new schools for the girls now then, shall I?”


End file.
